Cardinal Connection
December 2019
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Letter from the Principal
Dear Family and Friends,
As we start the month of December, I want to begin the message by thanking you for your support and dedication to Sun Prairie High School. Our students have had an excellent start to the year, and that is in large part, to the support you show them and our staff.
The second quarter is in full swing and we are only a month away from the end of the first semester. I am not sure where the time has gone, but the semester ends on January 23. The students will have final exams on January 21, 22, and 23. With the holidays mixed in there, we will be at those dates in no time. As we get closer to the end of the semester, please use Infinite Campus to view your child’s grades and course work. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the teachers. If you need any assistance logging into Infinite Campus, you can call Andrea Omeja at 834-6717.
With the winter months and the long stretch that comes after the holidays, I want to remind our students and families about the importance of attendance. We have been working very hard this year to ensure our students are in class and not missing valuable learning experiences. Students are expected to be in class each period by the time the bell rings. We would like to partner with our families to help us reinforce this positive behavior with all students. For students who have a parking pass and drive to school, this privilege may be taken away if students are habitually truant or leaving campus during lunches. Other consequences could include lunch detentions, after school detentions, or in-school suspensions for students who are not following attendance procedures. Please know that we want to celebrate that our attendance is up this year and we have continued to see the vast number of students taking their education seriously and engaging in the classroom.
This is a friendly reminder about being safe during the winter months. With the snow falling soon and the icy roads that will inevitably come, we want to remind our students to drive carefully and leave plenty of time to get to school on time. With assigned parking spaces, there may be times that some spots are unusable because of large snow falls. When this happens, students in those spots should park near the Track/Soccer field in the parking spaces in front of the sheds. Please drive carefully everyone and be safe in the parking lots and roadways.
Finally, I want to encourage our community to take advantage of many of the wonderful activities we have going on in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) at Sun Prairie High School. This month, we have our Orchestra concert on December 12, our Band concert on December 16, and our Choir concert on December 19. This year, on December 18 at 7:00 pm, the SPHS Wind Ensemble and the Cardinal Heights Wind Symphony, will be partnering with the Hikarighaoka Japanese Band for a special Friendship Band concert.You are invited to listen to our amazingly talented students and prepare yourself for the holiday season.
As always, thank you for your support and please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
All my best,
Keith Nerby
Principal
Did You Know
Did you know that you can excuse your student in advance? If you know the date of an appointment or a future event, you are welcome to email, call or even send in a note to let us know
Email all requests to Kelly Reindl, Attendance Secretary at khreind@sunprairieschools.org. This has become a popular way to correspond, and your email is usually seen immediately.
The attendance phone lines are available 24 hours for parents/guardians to leave a message to excuse their student. They are also checked regularly throughout the school day. In an effort to expedite the volume of calls we receive (especially in the morning), we have added an extra phone line. When you call in to 608-834-6993, there is a prompt that says, “To report an absence, press 1. If your student needs to leave for an appointment today, press 2.”
You are also welcome to write a note to excuse your student. It needs to include all the same information we need with a phone call or email, and also needs to be signed by a parent/guardian and must include a phone number.
Kelly Reindl, Attendance Secretary
608-834-6993
SPHS: A Place To Belong
Keeping You Up-To-Date
Over the next three years, we are charged with designing and constructing a second high school, reconfiguring our middle schools and our alternative high school (PPA), and rebuilding Ashley Field. The SPASD is committed to keeping our community informed, engaging community and staff, gathering input and ideas as the logistical and design committees progress through the planning and design processes. In order to better understand the processes that will help shape the future of the SPASD, we’ve developed a number of committees and planning teams as well as a project timeline. Additionally, we’ve developed a webpage for you to easily access information about the design, construction, and logistical processes.
Recent Updates:
The Sun Prairie City Council passed the Development Plan for Ashley Field on November 19th (starting on page 237).
The SPASD School Board approved the new names and mascots on October 28th.
The SPASD School Board approved the student migration plan on October 28th.
The SPASD School Board acted on new procedures for Voluntary Placement and “Grandfathering” Provisions on October 14th.
The following planning committees are “in progress” to develop plans/recommendations related to the successful completion of the second high school and Ashely Field projects:
Core Planning Team
Activities, Athletics, and Recreation Sub-Committee
Current and Second High School Sub-Committee
Operations and Capital Maintenance Sub-Committee
Middle School, Prairie Phoenix Academy, and Professional Development Sub-Committee
Athletics and Activities Future Configuration Committee
Naming Rights Committee
Traffic Safety Committee
Middle School Schedule Committee
The School Attendance Boundary Taskforce is slated to begin in the Fall of 2020, with a recommendation to the School Board in the Spring of 2021. Volunteers to serve on this committee will be able to submit their participation intent prior to the development of the taskforce.
Because school staffing plans are dependent on curriculum decisions and attendance boundary decisions, the staffing plan process is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2021.
For more information and to keep informed, please visit our Building for Our Future webpage, which we keep up-to-date for clear and transparent communication with our community!
Please put this content in a Feature Box to accompany the content above:
“Grandfather” Provision Policy Change
When the School Board has approved boundary changes in the past, Grandfathering has historically been a practice as a part of Procedure JC-R. Grandfathering will now be reviewed each time there is a boundary adjustment.
Grandfathering related to a family move during the school year is addressed in Policy JC, allowing for the option that students finish the current school year in their current school without an educational disruption. Grandfathering beyond the current year will not be allowed.
Voluntary Placement Process for Siblings Only
Families with students who have received Voluntary Placement approval will be allowed to apply for younger siblings to attend the same school. No new applications will be accepted for voluntary placement.
New Electronic Safety Tip Line
The safety and security of our students and staff is a top priority for the district. We have been teaching our students to say something to a trusted adult when they see something unsafe. Sometimes, though, there are barriers to reporting safety issues in person. Tip lines are one common approach that schools use to promote school and student safety and well-being. Tip lines are designed to provide students or other members of the school community with a safe and confidential way to report a threat to safety or security.
To that end, we have created an Electronic Safety Tip Line available on the district website. The e-Tip Line allows students, parents, or community members to report weapons, threats of violence, bullying, sexual harassment, potential threat of suicide, drugs, and any other activity that could potentially endanger students, staff, and property. The tip line should not be used to report an immediate danger to someone’s life. Always use 911 to report those emergencies.
We are developing a communication plan to roll this out to students in upper elementary, middle school, and high school. The e-Tip Line is available on the district website from the “Families” menu and “Quicklinks” and can also be found on the district bullying and safety webpages.
The Electronic Safety Tip Line is just one way that students can report concerns about safety. For example, if a student wishes to file a bullying report, the Fillable Bullying Report Form is also available on the website under bullying and reporting.
Welcome Guests!
Cyberbullying
Anytime children enter digital spaces (online, texts, apps,etc.) they are susceptible to cyberbullying.
What you need to know:
Cyberbullying is real. People can be mean. Technology makes being mean easier.
Awareness and Communication are key. Talk to you child openly and often about their online behavior.
Spot Check. They may not like it, but tell your child to expect spot checks. This will help you better guide them in navigating their online activity.
Develop a Plan. Talk through scenarios of how to deal with cyberbullying before it ever happens so your child has a plan to fall back on if it does.
Set Limits. Bullying can happen at any time of the day, but it can have a greater impact on kids when there is no relief.
Check Yourself. Much of what our children know about digital behavior stems from what they see at home. Model healthy online habits, children are always watching!
Remember that while cyberbullying can be scary, a lot of healthy and positive relationships can come from connecting digitally. A strong focus on kindness and empathy are always important in supporting healthy relationships in the digital world and the real world.
For more information and tips, please check out our cyberbullying resources in the Plugged in Parenting section of our District Website.
Resources from Common Sense Media:
K-2nd Grade Family Activity - Cyberbullying and Digital Drama
3rd-5th grade Family Activity - Cyberbullying and Digital Drama
Article: Is There Any Way to Make Sure My Kid Won’t Become a Cyberbully?